FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Monday returned to the Violence Against Women Act, seeking to accomplish what Congress last year failed to do _ extend the federal government's chief means of protecting women from domestic abuse while broadening those protections to better include Native Americans, gays and lesbians. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
-
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Monday returned to the Violence Against Women Act, seeking to accomplish what Congress last year failed to do _ extend the federal government's chief means of protecting women from domestic abuse while broadening those protections to better include Native Americans, gays and lesbians. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
-
FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2012 file photo, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Monday returned to the Violence Against Women Act, seeking to accomplish what Congress last year failed to do _ extend the federal government's chief means of protecting women from domestic abuse while broadening those protections to better include Native Americans, gays and lesbians. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
-
FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2012 file photo, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Monday returned to the Violence Against Women Act, seeking to accomplish what Congress last year failed to do _ extend the federal government's chief means of protecting women from domestic abuse while broadening those protections to better include Native Americans, gays and lesbians. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
-
Anne Easby-Smith, left, and Trace Robbins, right, who work for House Speaker John Boehner, help to prepare the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill in Washington,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, where members of the House of Representatives will pose for pictures at an oath of office ceremony with Boehner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
-
The U.S. Capitol is seen amid reflections from inside the Cannon House Office Building on the last day of the 112th Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. On Thursday, all members of the House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be sworn in as the 113th Congress begins its work. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
-
FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2012 file photo, a man walks in front of the Capitol in Washington. The debate in Washington over taxes and spending is likely to continue damaging the fragile economy well into 2013. The political standoff has already taken an economic toll, creating uncertainty about the future and discouraging consumers from spending and businesses from hiring and investing. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
-
FILE - This Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, file photo shows the Capitol dome on Capitol Hill in Washington. The brinkmanship in Washington over taxes and spending is likely to continue damaging the fragile economy well into 2013. The political standoff has already taken an economic toll, creating uncertainty about the future and discouraging consumers from spending and businesses from hiring and investing. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
-
Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
-
House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
-
President Barack Obama walks past a Marine honor guard as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returned early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
NC senators file fracking, Atlantic drilling bill
RALEIGH, N.C. (
AP) — Permits for companies to carry out a form of underground natural gas exploration in North Carolina could begin in March 2015, under a bill offered by
Senate Republicans.
The measure filed Monday would authorize regulators to issue horizontal drilling and fracking licenses five months after a regulatory panel is supposed to finish work on rules for those activities. The Legislature authorized fracking in 2012 but said permits couldn't be issued without the express consent of legislators.
Senators also want shale gas taxes increasing annually to encourage early exploration.
The bill mirrors a 2011 law vetoed by then-Gov. Beverly Perdue but not overridden. Gov. Pat McCrory would be authorized to work with Virginia and South Carolina governors to persuade the federal government to open the Atlantic coast to natural gas drilling.
Tags:
ap, beverly perdue, gov. pat mccrory, bev perdue, united states, monday, north carolina, rules, petroleum, measure, n.c., legislature, united states constitution, south carolina, southern united states, companies, raleigh, business, natural gas, legislators, federal government, law, form, atlantic coast, senate republicans, natural gas drilling, regulators, activities, permits, nc senators, licenses, shale gas taxes, underground natural gas, south carolina governors, atlantic drilling, horizontal drilling, express consent, regulatory panel, early exploration
Print Page
